


jump scare

by burrfication



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Movie Night, Tumblr Prompt, literally just fluff, look at me i wrote something with 0 angst!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 10:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13996209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burrfication/pseuds/burrfication
Summary: When Laurens announced he had invited Aaron to their movie night, Alexander knew he was up to something. Alexander had been harboring an inconvenient crush on Aaron since they had started college. He can only hope Laurens' plans for the night do not involve too much embarrassment on his part.





	jump scare

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt from a tumblr list. The prompt was #18 - kisses where one person is sitting in the other’s lap
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at burrfication.tumblr.com

When Laurens announced he had invited Aaron to their movie night, Alexander knew he was up to something.

It was not that Aaron was not their friend. If anything, it was the opposite. Aaron had managed to befriend every last person in their college (with the possible exception of Lafayette, who continued to view him with extreme suspicion). Mortal enemies who would not give each other the time of day would both stop by his door to ask for homework help, and Aaron would diffuse the situation with a smile. Perhaps that was why, despite his wide array of friendships, Aaron had failed to integrate into the core of any group. Everyone else had their college family. Everyone else had a core group of friends they could depend on, no matter what.

Aaron did not.

Most people did not notice this. Most people noticed very little about Aaron, unless Aaron actively tried to get their attention. Certainly no one noticed when he had disappeared for a week with a cold - no one, that is, except Alexander. Alexander noticed the minute he showed up to class and found his favourite debate partner was absent. Alexander was, in fact, the one person who noticed a great deal about Aaron. Mostly, he noticed how handsome he was. From the minute he had laid eyes on Aaron, he had known he was in trouble. Alexander’s famous flirting skills deserted him when Aaron was around, and he found himself stuttering and arguing and once, to his horror, calling him ‘sir’. His crush did not fade with time. Even after everyone moved out of the residential halls into new homes, Alexander found himself looking for Aaron at class every day.

His friends may not have noticed a great deal about Aaron, but they did notice Alexander’s crush on him. They teased him mercilessly. Laurens’ was the worst of all: he asked Aaron all kind of invasive questions whenever he was near, like if he was dating anyone or whether or not he liked Alexander’s outfit. It did not matter to Alexander that Aaron seemed to tolerate the invasive questions. It was proof that John Laurens was ready and more than willing to meddle in one of the few matters Alexander wanted him to stay entirely out of. So that was why, when he heard about Laurens' plan, Alexander's heart had sunk.

Laurens’ behaviour may have been enough to raise Alexander’s suspicions, but Aaron did not seem to share his fears. He had accepted Laurens' invitation. Not only that, he had volunteered to bring a dozen beers along. Even those who had been hesitant about Laurens’ plan seemed to mellow then. Whether Alexander liked it or not, Aaron would attend movie night.  
Movie night was a sacred tradition among their group. It had started when they had still been living in dorms, and all four of them - Alexander, Laurens, Hercules and Lafayette - squeezed into one tiny room. It had continued when they had all moved out to form independent households. No matter what else was happening in their lives, they gathered every Thursday like clockwork to watch a film. Comedy, romance, action: the genre didn’t matter. It changed each week as they each took their turns picking the film.  
When Alexander first learnt of Laurens’ ploy, he fretted that it would be his week to choose the film. For all the time he spent watching Aaron, he had no idea what his taste in movies might be. This could be his one chance to impress him. The last thing Alexander wanted to do was pick a film that would make Aaron laugh at him. He was not sure if he was relieved or horrified when he checked the schedule and realized it was Laurens’ turn to choose. The more time he spent considering the matter, the more his opinion turned to dread. He could only imagine what Laurens might choose. There was little doubt in Alexander’s mind that Laurens would not choose his normal action flick. No, he would be planning on inflicting something far, far worse on his captive audience. Romance, most likely. Or worse, romantic comedy. Alexander was not sure what would be more humiliating, but he was sure Laurens would have figured it out.

Alexander spent the entire week fretting. When the night finally came, he spent more time than he wanted to admit preening in the bathroom. Amazingly, not one of his friends commented that he had swapped out his usual tshirt and dirty tracksuit pants for jeans and a freshly ironed button down shirt. For anyone else, he might have worried he was going too far, but Alexander had seen the way Aaron dressed. The man had both style and standards. If he was willing to put in the effort to look good for a nine AM class, then Alexander could at least meet that standard.

At 6:03 PM, Aaron arrived on Laurens doorstep with the promised beer. It may have been Alexander’s imagination, but he could have sworn Aaron looked almost nervous as he was invited inside. If Laurens noticed, he was courteous enough not to comment. He greeted Aaron the way he greeted any friend, with a beaming grin and a half-hug that finished with a pat on the back. A flicker of surprise passed over Aaron’s face. It was gone by the time Laurens pulled back to see, but it made Alexander’s heart twist uncomfortably. Was Aaron uncomfortable with the contact, or just surprised to be greeted as a friend? Neither option cheered Alexander. Whether or not his interest was reciprocated, he counted Aaron as a friend. The idea that Aaron might not realize that was a discomforting thought.

It took longer than usual for everyone to take their seat. Aaron’s introduction to the group perturbed the usual seating plan, but Laurens appeared to have a plan. He directed Aaron to take his own usual seat on the sofa, right beside Alexander. Rather than consign himself to the horribly lumpy armchair in the corner, Laurens sprawled out across the floor. The lights flicked off. There was a tense moment as Laurens fiddled with his laptop, but when the movie began to play, Alexander’s heart sank. This was much, much worse than a romantic comedy.

Laurens had chosen a horror film.

Alexander did not like to think of himself as a coward. Most people did not think of him as a coward. He was reckless in the face of danger, and his reckless stunts had proven he was more than willing to risk his life if he thought his friends were in danger. So it was not so much that Alexander was easily frightened (or so he told himself), but easily startled. Jump scares were a nightmare for him. Even when he knew it was coming, he invariably flinched, screamed, or otherwise made a spectacle of himself. Laurens did not need to try and embarrass Alexander. With a horror film on, Alexander was guaranteed to embarrass himself.  
One hour into the film, and Alexander began to let his guard down. The film thus far had been remarkably tame. The body count was low, and the only sudden starts had been gentle enough that Alexander had been able to pass off his startled response as laughter. It was possible Alexander would make it through the night without humiliating himself. He stopped hugging his knees to his chest and let his feet drift to the ground. This would be fine. He would be fine. He watched as the protagonist walked down the hall. Anxiety buzzed in the back of his skull. He would be fine, he had been so far, but panic started to swell in Alexander’s chest. Fine or not, he could have sworn something was -

Alexander screamed. 

His scream was loud enough to cover the shrieking crescendo in the film’s music as the protagonist was grabbed from behind. Alexander did not see anything after the initial grab, because he had fallen back on instinct. Every time something like this happened at movie night, he would scramble over to Laurens’ side of the couch and cower against him. It was an effective (if embarrassing) solution. It was hard to be frightened when he had his best friend right there, safe and calm and usually trying hard not to laugh at Alexander. And so Alexander fell back on old habits. After his initial start, he bolted to the other side of the couch. It was not until he felt a warm body beneath him that Alexander remembered it was not Laurens at the other end of the couch.

It was Aaron.

Without a second thought, Alexander had launched himself across the couch and planted himself squarely in Aaron’s lap. He had tucked his face into the crook of Aaron’s neck to block out the sight of the television. His mortification only increased when Alexander realized he had also wrapped his arms around him, clinging to Aaron as if his life depended on it. He could only imagine what Aaron thought. Alexander took a moment to collect himself. He intended to use the moment to take stock of what he needed to apologize for, but instead he found himself distracted by how good Aaron smelled. He inhaled and tried to ignore the warmth that flooded his belly. He didn’t think it was just Aaron’s cologne - although that was nice, too, peppery and sweet in a way Alexander hadn’t expected. No, what really made Alexander’s head spin was the way the cologne mixed with Aaron’s skin and sweat. The heady aroma was enough to make Alexander’s head spin.

Just as Alexander was about to peek up, he felt the unmistakable slide of Aaron’s arm around his waist. Alexander held his breath. To his amazement, Aaron did not try and move him. The arm curled tighter around Alexander before settling against his hip, holding him close. Alexander let out a shaky breath. He risked a glance up at Aaron and found himself staring into dark brown eyes. Whatever surprise Aaron had felt had been smoothed from his face, and his lips has curled up into a teasing smile. Alexander’s gaze lingered a moment too long on his mouth before flicking back up to his eyes. Aaron raised an eyebrow, a silent question.  
So far as Alexander could tell, he had two options. He could retreat. As awkward as a retreat would be, it was the sensible option. It would allow both of them to pretend nothing happened, and it would save Alexander from having to explain himself. If he moved now, he could still pass his behaviour off as driven by fear. But there was one problem: Alexander did not like retreating. When pushed into a corner, Alexander never thought to retreat. He doubled down on his position and challenged anyone to question him. So after the tension between them had built to breaking point, Alexander had just one option.

The kiss he pressed to Aaron’s lips sent lightning through his nerves.

As spontaneous as the decision was, Alexander was careful to make sure the kiss was not forceful. He took his time. More importantly, he gave Aaron time to respond. It was only when he felt Aaron’s lips move and part against his own that Alexander let himself go, deepening the kiss and making himself comfortable in Aaron’s lap. He felt a rush of glee. Aaron wanted him. He wanted him enough that he was willing to kiss Alexander in front of his friends. Given how private and reclusive Aaron could be, Alexander was willing to take that as a declaration of undying adoration.

When he pulled back, Alexander could see Aaron’s dark eyes watching his every move. He grinned. An answering grin pulled at the corners of Aaron’s lips. Somewhere behind Alexander, the television played the sounds of screams and violent destruction, but Alexander could barely hear it. All he cared about was the man beneath him. Aaron’s chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath. His gaze dipped down to Alexander’s lips, then back up to his eyes.

“Would you like to get dinner tomorrow night?”

Alexander grinned and nodded. He stole one last kiss before settling back down to watch the movie. He had no intentions of moving far: he stayed seated in Aaron’s lap and rested his head against his shoulder. Judging from the arm holding him tight, Aaron did not want him moving either. For the rest of the night, Alexander could not stop smiling.

This could be the start of something great.


End file.
